36. Alice
36
Alice
C hill bumps run over my bare arms. I breathe in clean linen—my favorite laundry soap. I bend my leg, but it’s wrapped around another leg. One that doesn’t belong to me… Will’s leg.
Soft lips and Will’s five o’clock shadow graze over my temple.
I’m suddenly very aware of the arms I’m cradled in.
The sun has risen, but I’m still on the roof of this apartment building. And I’m not alone.
“Morning,” Will says through a yawn.
My lavender dress tangles around me, and Will is still dressed in his Mr. Darcy shirt and boots—he discarded the jacket sometime in the night.
His lips press to my head once more, and I am suddenly so very aware that I have not brushed my teeth in twenty-four hours. I press my face to his chest, inadvertently breathing him in—why does this man smell so good? Shouldn’t he need a shower? There’s sweat and musk mixed in with his scent—but it smells good too. And here I am, keeping my mouth as far from his as possible. While I’ve spent a dozen mornings with Will, I’ve never been this close. I’m not sure he’s ready for Alice Taylor’s morning breath.
“I’m glad I gave everyone the morning off,” he mutters through a yawn. “Or I’d be late to work today.”
“You mean Billy gave us the morning off,” I say. I’m not sure why I correct him. Or why it matters. But he’d said in our staff meeting that Billy was giving them all the morning after the party off. He’d told us that Billy said we should sleep in and then work remotely.
Does it matter? He’s Billy’s mouthpiece.
But that’s what he said.
His arms around me tighten and his mouth grazes over my hairline once more. “Yeah, I do mean Billy.” Will’s hand trails over my hair and down my back. “Can I make you breakfast?”
I peek up at him. “I’m working on a mockup website this morning. I’ve got a Zoom meeting with a guy at eleven. I should shower.”
“A guy?” Will smirks. “Should I be concerned?”
My heart patters in my chest. “No.” I breathe out a laugh. “Not at all. Jonah is just a friend from school. He excelled in web design.”
“So, no morning off for Alice.” His fingers slip through my hair as he cups the back of my head.
“Not today.”
Will edges toward me. His lips are a mere inch from mine when I remember vital information. I press one finger to his mouth, pausing his descent. “I haven’t brushed my teeth,” I tell him.
His lips lift to my cheek and press a single kiss there. “Yeah, me either.”
A phone buzzes at my hip, and I pick it up and peer at the screen. But it isn’t mine—it’s Will’s. I hand it over just as his eyes make contact, opening the screen up. A notification for a stock alert lights up his screen.
Stock Alert: Apple (AAPL)
Time: 7:42 AM PDT
User: William Baxter
Current Price…
But I’ve stopped reading. My eyes dart over to Will’s, still lying beside me. “You get Billy’s stock updates?”
He glances back at his phone. “I do.”
“You’re both William?” I shake my head—I’d never thought about it before.
He clears his throat. “We are.”
I nod, but it’s forced. My mind is still reeling. “You two have a lot in c?—”
“We do,” he says before I can even finish. Will sits up, suddenly ready to go.
“Weird.”
He breathes out a sigh and stuffs his phone into his pocket.
I unwind my leg from his and sit up beside him. “Do you need help getting all this cleaned up?”
“Nah,” he says, running one hand through his hair. “Go get ready for your meeting, I’ve got this.”
I stand at my kitchen counter—since I don’t have a table to sit at yet—and thank Jonah one last time before he logs off.
“What’d you think?” I ask Mason through the camera of my computer screen.
“Alice, thanks for Zooming me in on this. His work is brilliant. I never would have thought to add screen reader compatibility for the visually impaired.”
“I told you—he thinks of everything.”
“He did this as a favor to you?” Mason asks. His eyes are zoned as he still looks at the examples Jonah sent. “You said he was a friend.”
I hiss. “No. I mean, sort of. He gave me a deal. But I paid him.” Yes, another giant portion of yet another paycheck is gone before I even get it. “I told him if Billy likes what he sees, then he’d get a much more substantial paycheck and more direction from the people in charge.”
Mason laughs. “Well, good work. He took your notes and gave us some great options. Billy will love one of them—he has to.”
“Do you know him at all?” I ask. Theo and Mateo always have plenty to say about Billy, but Mason keeps pretty quiet. “Even remotely?”
“No. I’ve worked for Billy for years now. But I always work through Will.”
“How well do you know Will?” I ask. Will’s comment about his parents last night won’t leave me. I know Will, but I didn’t know he and Billy had lost their parents around the same age. Such a strange commonality. One that makes my pulse race.
“ Well , I think. He’s a good guy. He works hard and he’s fair.”
“He is.” All of those things. “Do you know anything about his parents?”
“His family?” Mason zones out for a second. “I’m pretty sure his mom works in fashion somewhere in New York. But I don’t know about his dad. I think he has a brother. Maybe.” He shakes his head. “I think.” Mason’s brows lift. “I’m not sure. Why do you ask?”
I swallow, my throat clenching. “Just curious.”
Fashion? Will’s mom is gone, and yet Mason, who has worked with Will for years, believes she is alive and well and living in New York? My heart thumps—but I’m being silly. Mason had nothing right. He’s mixing up his information.
“I know he doesn’t talk about his family much. I think there’s some bad blood there.”
Will has never mentioned bad blood, and his mother isn’t in fashion—she’s gone. Mason must be assuming, or possibly Theo has spread some untrue rumors. That wouldn’t surprise me a bit.
I don’t think Mason is trying to deceive me, but I think his information must be secondhand and inaccurate. “Do you think Will has any tattoos?” It’s a sophomore year, Mrs. Barker, U.S. History kind of question—tricky and a little deceptive. I hated that class. But I only know what I know. And I’m trying to decide if Mason, if any of the guys, actually know anything about Will.
“Will?” Mason laughs. “No way. Not his style. That guy is too practical, too reserved.”
“I mean, there’s a lot of skin we don’t get a peek at,” I say, and I’m not sure why I’m so determined. Or why the truth doesn’t just slip right through my lips. I know the man has a tattoo. I am Mrs. Barker reincarnated.
“Not possible, Alice. I’d bet money on it.” He chuckles. “Are you betting money? You’ve got a lot of Will questions today.”
“I’m a curious person.” I bite my inner cheek. “How about you, Mason? Any tattoos?”
Mason laughs again. “Maybe one day. Right now, none.”
“Okay,” I say, and I’m proud of how cool and easy my tone is. As if I haven’t been prodding him for information or Mrs. Barkering him for the last ten minutes. “I have to run. Have a good one, Mason. Thanks for the input on the website.”
“Thanks for including me,” he says once more. I end the Zoom meeting, my skin itching.
My teeth are thoroughly brushed… I wouldn’t mind seeing Will now that I’m showered and cleaned up. Maybe if I look at him, a few blurred lines will clear right up.
I tap on Will’s door, and when he doesn’t answer, I try the knob.
Are we at a walk right into the other’s apartment place in our relationship? I’m not sure. But I do it anyway.
“Will?” I call—because I’m not trying to be sneaky. I’m just trying to see the man—with my brushed teeth and minty mouth. I walk through the living space and try again. “William Henley?”
Will’s head pokes from his bedroom, peeking at me from the end of the hall. “Alice?”
“Hey.” I shake my head, my stomach knotting. “The door was open?—”
“As in wide open?” He steps into the hall—shirtless—his eyes startled.
It’s a small miracle that I noticed his eyes at all—with his abdominal muscles just out there staring at me. In fact, I’m extremely proud of myself.
“Um,” I hum, remembering his question. “No. Not wide open. As in, I knocked. You didn’t come. And then, I turned the knob, and it opened up.” I cringe. “Sorry.”
He runs a hand through his wet hair—possibly to simply show the bicep in his arm. It’s impressive. I get it. It’s worth showing off.
I gulp and force my eyes back to his. “I just wanted to see you, and when you didn’t answer, I opened the door and—” I clamp my mouth shut, deciding I should just be quiet.
He strides over to me. Bare feet. Bare chest. And my heart speeds up. “That’s okay. Is everything all right? You wanted to see me?”
I lift one shoulder and give my head a small bobble. “Yeah—with brushed teeth.”
Will laughs. His hand cups my cheek, and I lean into his hold. “How’d your meeting go?”
All the confusion, those lines that feel so fuzzy—they clear in his presence. Somehow, he makes everything right.
“Good,” I say, inching closer to him. I mean, if both of us have brushed teeth… I’m not sure what we’re waiting for. “Really good.”
“I’m glad,” he says. He leans toward me with his minty-fresh breath, and my eyes fall to his lips.
Lifting on my toes, I thread both arms around his neck and connect my lips to his.
What can I say? Patience isn’t my virtue.